Sims orders inquest into fatal police shooting

Hearing in Bellevue death might begin in November

BELLEVUE -- King County Executive Ron Sims yesterday ordered an inquest into the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by Bellevue police Officer Mike Hetle earlier this month.

On Tuesday, police turned over their investigation to the King County Prosecutor's Office, which recommended the inquest to Sims. An inquest is required to investigate any death involving law enforcement officers in the county.

No hearing date has been set, but an inquest could be held possibly by November, said Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the county prosecutor. Any decision about possible criminal charges against Hetle would not be made until the inquest is complete, Donohoe said.

Nelson Martinez Mendez, 24, was killed Aug. 8 when police responded to a 911 call about a domestic disturbance at the apartment complex where he lived. A cousin of Martinez Mendez's reported that he was threatening her with a knife. Three officers responding to the call were told that Martinez Mendez was trying to leave in a blue Chevrolet Corsica.

According to the inquest recommendation from Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mark Larson, Officer James Boyd was walking up to the apartment when he saw the car leaving. He reported on his police radio which way the car was going and asked that it be stopped.

He and Officer Kyle Woodruff continued toward the apartment to contact the 911 caller when they heard gunshots and ran toward the sound.

When they arrived, they saw Hetle with his gun drawn and pointed at the driver's side of the car. "Officers Boyd and Woodruff heard Officer Hetle say that he had been rammed by the suspect's vehicle and some words regarding the suspect's waistband," Larson wrote.

Police later said there was no evidence that Hetle's car was rammed. They found only a wallet in the man's waistband. A knife and crowbar were found in the car.

Police Chief Jim Montgomery said earlier that Hetle, who has refused to give a voluntary statement, will remain on paid administrative leave until the department has "satisfactory answers" about what happened.

In April, an inquest jury cleared Hetle and another officer over the fatal shooting of bank robbery suspect Airen Lee Weaver last September in the Nordstrom Grill at Bellevue Square.